Whirlwind of sunshine
by Empty Stairs
Summary: Kageyama tries to find out everything Hinata is and will ever be, but will he succeed before he endlessly falls into emotions he doesn't know? Extreme fluff, rated T to be sure.


At first, Hinata Shouyou was nothing more than a pawn to him, a pawn in the beautiful game of volleyball they apparently shared a passion for. He was another faceless person on the other side of the net, an obstacle in the way of the King of the Court's destined path. Maybe he couldn't even have been considered an obstacle, though. Clearly, the orange haired guy's team wasn't a thread. Kageyama did see the overwhelming will to survive the game burning within him, but there was no real talent to be found in the chocolate brown eyes, except for the ability to become the centre of attention, to draw one's eyes upon him, but only for a few seconds. It was awfully clear that the boy was the only enthusiastic member of his team, and that he wasn't able to cast it upon his teammates. So Kageyama averted his eyes from him quite quickly, no longer feeling the necessity of giving him his valuable attention, no longer interested. And he played, only to realize again that he already lost his place in the team a long time ago, being the crownless King he was, doomed to be alone, never to find anyone able to spike his tosses.

~xxx~

And then, suddenly, Hinata Shouyou is a whirlwind, bursting in his life again, with too much energy burning within him for Kageyama to handle. Their eyes meet, and blue mingles with brown in a huge, huge, uncontrollable mess. Words spill and spill and overflow in things like 'Why are you here!', later followed by 'You probably don't remember me, do you?' Kageyama doesn't really know what to say and just gets dragged along by the strong storm raging through the gym. (But honestly, how can that guy think he doesn't remember him? Sure, he wasn't a very powerful opponent, but how can he possibly forget those tears of determination, falling from the smaller boy's eyes?)

After that day and their fateful reunion, the wind continues to blow, causing Kageyama to snap and to yell and to feel way more irritated than ever. It's taunting him, teasing him as a quiet breeze, until it turns into the storm it sometimes becomes, turning and tumbling his whole world upside down. Hinata Shouyou makes him exhausted, to the point of collapsing on his bed after practice. At first, Kageyama doesn't really realize how. But when he does, it hits him in the face. Really hard.

~xxx~

That's because Hinata Shouyou is an unpredictable, unreadable being to him. The very first he'd ever met. Kageyama is used to reading people. Usually, it doesn't take him very long to understand what the other person is thinking. He knows exactly when and why his middle school teammates were calling him the King of the Court, that ridiculous nickname. (But still, that didn't ease the pain accompanying the mocking words directed at him, or the disapproving glances shot at him from all directions. Sure, it only took one scary look on his face to shut them up, but that would only confirm and increase their grudges.) He can tell when his mother is truly happy, is able to see through the mask she often puts on. He understands when his father wants to be left alone, or when it's okay to talk to him, even without him saying a word. His ability didn't change when he entered high school. After all, his teammates are as easy to read as any others. (It's easy to understand the meaning behind Sugawara-senpai's smile he gladly gives Daichi-senpai, and the words hidden in his dark eyes when the team captain looks back at him. It's also easy to recognize the second reason within Nishinoya-senpai's desire to bring the ace back to the team. It's all so very, very easy to see.) But not Hinata Shouyou. Sometimes, Kageyama thinks he knows, only to find out he does not. Because who would possibly have thought that he, the bursting ball of energy, he and he alone, would be able to spike his impossible tosses? Who would possibly have thought that they would create the freak quick together, and form this amazing duo?

~xxx~

Sometimes, the storm calms down, and turns Hinata Shouyou into a beautiful, radiant sun, shining down on him so brightly, Kageyama forgets to breathe. He always thought he was like a shadow, hiding in the darkness, never able to find the light. That's why he's blinded the second it shines upon him. ('As long as I'm here, you're invincible!' is what he tells him, but really, really, isn't it the other way around? How could Kageyama possibly survive without the sun, _his_ sun, after he saw it rise so beautifully?) Slowly and gradually, the sun tends to appear more often than the storm, but that doesn't mean it isn't overwhelming. It still steals his breath, but Kageyama's starting to get used to it, to overcome his fear of the unknown, to feel these feelings he hasn't felt ever before.

'I'm here! Give me a toss!' says the sun and he realizes he's really there, he's always there, and he won't leave him alone like the shadows of his past. He's no longer one of them, he can walk out of the darkness, embracing the light.

(It makes him so relieved he wants to cry, but of course there's no way he'd tell him things like that. It's way easier to just ruffle his hair and call him an idiot. And honestly, maybe he's a coward, but he just doesn't want to change the sun the way he is now.)

~xxx~

Hinata Shouyou is a beautiful, beautiful bird, soaring and flying, trying to touch the sky. And when he does, he lands gracefully on his feet, having stopped the world for a moment all around him. He probably thinks it's perfectly fine to do absurd things like that, because he just smiles and cheers and waves his hands in the air, but honestly, Kageyama doesn't think it's okay. At all. You can't just go around freezing someone's world now, can you?

~xxx~

Sometimes, Hinata Shouyou can also be so very small, scared of all the big dogs barking at him. And then he becomes smaller and smaller, losing his brilliant shine, forgetting how strong he is, regardless of his not so impressive appearance, or maybe _because_ of his not so impressive appearance because people are really really good at underestimating him. Kageyama doesn't like seeing him like that, but sometimes it gives him purpose, because he is the first person Hinata can hide behind, and Kageyama's the first person to tell him not to get intimidated, call him a dumbass and ruffle his hair until the shortie's afraid he'll go bald. (Not because he likes the soft feeling of Hinata's hair underneath his fingers, of course. Just because Daichi-senpai will get mad when he hits him and this way he won't .)

~xxx~

Just when Kageyama starts to think he knows everything about Hinata Shouyou, he begins to wonder about all the things he can still become. He starts to memorize every expression shown on the other boy's face, only to think about the ones he hasn't seen yet. But he wants to. So. Very. Badly.

And it hurts, it hurts, but there's no way stopping this crazy, crazy wish taunting him day and night.

Just when he thinks he's become used to his brightness, Kageyama gets blinded once again.

~xxx~

Somehow they're together, he and the sun, watching the stars sparkle above them in the dark, overwhelming sky. And before Kageyama can ask himself how it's possible for the sun and the stars to be together, he wonders if Hinata Shouyou can also be one of them. One of those beautiful tiny balls of light dancing in the night sky. But somewhere along the way of his thoughts, he catches himself staring at him, only to be reminded how dazzling he is, way too big for such a small dot in the dark. No, he can never be the stars or the moon, for the dark doesn't suit him. He needs perfect blue cloudless skies to be able to shine. They're staring back at him, he realizes, those beautiful brown eyes. And it's as if they're getting closer, slowly, slowly, and Kageyama's not sure if it's illusion or reality, until the heat warms his cheeks and he pushes him away while crawling back, too close, too close, too close, way way way too close. He's clumsy because somehow he ends up with his back on the soft, cold grass. His name. It's being called. He quickly looks up and finds Hinata Shouyou looking at him with worried eyes. 'Are you okay, Kageyama?'

No no no he is definitely not okay, because he is filled with fear of getting burned by his radiant sun, of being blown away by his strong whirlwind, of being astonished by his one and only unpredictable being. But at the same time the desire to know more is killing him and Kageyama is cursed, definitely cursed.

'You're being weird,' the sun says and he smirks, not knowing what to say. He ignores the hand offered at him, because he's scared of what will happen when he takes it, even though it's so damn appealing. Then their eyes meet again and his hazy mind tells him he already took Hinata Shouyou's hand a long time ago, so maybe it's okay. (His heart is beating so fast and he never felt like this before and he doesn't know what's happening, which is why he's afraid, but maybe that's okay too.)

And then suddenly, Hinata is so far far away and Kageyama wants to be closer to him, to embrace the sun without worrying about getting burned. There's no thinking when he moves closer, so close close close. (Way too close for Kageyama's definition of personal space but hey, he's doing it himself, so that doesn't matter, maybe, right?) There's no real purpose when his hand reaches for the smaller boy's cheek, only the desire to see the change in his eyes.

(It's getting hard to breathe, really, but does it matter? Kageyama doesn't think so. He needs to find out. Needs to know.)

'Kage-'

It's just a shadow of his name, just like those fragments of bad memories that are already fading. (But he actually really would've liked to hear him say his name in this kind of situation, just to find out what it would sound like. Unfortunately, it's too late now. He failed himself, but does he mind? In the faint seconds before their lips meet, Kageyama can only wonder, and when they do, he doesn't even remember his past concerns.)

Hinata's lips are oh so very soft and warm and they pull away way way way too soon. And that's when Kageyama realizes he forgot to steal a glance at his face. His real goal fading in the dark, he reaches for his own lips, as if to capture the feeling and never let it go away. He's afraid to look at him now, to face what he's done and he closes his eyes because his mind is twisted and conflicted. (Because hey, here's the opportunity to see a new expression on Hinata Shouyou's face but oh god why did he do that, there's no way back now, no way to avoid the feelings he know he'd hidden behind a mask for a long time.)

There's not even a chance to decide for himself, because a soft whisper escapes from Hinata Shouyou's lips. 'W-why did you do that?'

Immediately, his gaze is attracted by his teammate, captured, stolen, and Kageyama knows perfectly well that he will never get it back again.

'B-because I wanted to,' Kageyama says and he tries to sound nonchalant but fails miserably as his voice shakes and his hands tremble.

Hinata looks at him and he's pretty sure the world is freezing right now, that the wind stops blowing, the birds stop flying and the clouds stop floating peacefully through the night sky, and it's only them living and breathing this moment. There's a faint blush on his cheeks and after what seems like an eternal exchange of glances, he smiles so brightly it dazzles Kageyama once again.

'You're an idiot,' are the words he hears before he's being kissed by the sun. (Oh well, Kageyama thinks faintly, while closing his eyes, he just needs to get used to kissing him until he's able to look him in the eye.)


End file.
